A man charged with murder in the death of his infant daughter, who was found submerged in water in a bathtub at a motel in Milford last summer, has been found not competent to stand trial.
The ruling was made Tuesday during a hearing in Milford Superior Court where 31-year-old Dale Kirkland appeared on charges of murder, risk of injury to a minor and murder with special circumstances, court records show.
According to the Clerk’s Office, the case was continued until March 4. Kirkland will spend 60 days at the Whiting Forensic Hospital in Middletown where a team will work to restore his competency.
The ruling this week came on the heels of an evaluation that determined Kirkland cannot assist in his own defense or understand the proceedings against him.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit in the case, officers with the Milford Police Department responded to the Mayflower Motel on Aug. 21, 2024 shortly after 11 a.m. after staff found a baby unresponsive with her face in the water in a child’s tub inside the bathtub of one of the guest rooms. Emergency crews made life-saving attempts on the infant before she was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 11:56 a.m., the warrant affidavit said.
Investigators reviewed surveillance footage at the motel and found that Kirkland was dropped off the previous night, when he could be seen checking into a room and later entering it with a child, according to the warrant affidavit. The following morning, video footage showed him leaving the room at 8:38 a.m. wearing dark sunglasses and a mask over part of his face, the warrant affidavit said. He did not have a child with him when he left.
Staff at the motel called 911 after a cleaning person entered the room shortly before 11 a.m. and made the discovery, according to the warrant affidavit.
The Connecticut Department of Children and Families had an open case with Kirkland for about four weeks prior to the infant’s death.
